Coffee and Muffins
by Mrsdaywalker
Summary: What happens when Mick St. John and Nick Knight meet over a case.
1. Chapter 1

Coffee and Muffins

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from either Moonlight or Forever Knight. If I did, they wouldn't have been canceled.

Toronto, Canada

Nick Knight stared at his captain, "You need me to do what?"

"Go to LA in the States with Dr. Lambert. We have requested their help. You remember the Vampire Murders we had here last year? It appears the guy moved to LA. Pack your bags. You are on the 10:30 flight tomorrow night. You will meet with Beth Turner, a civilian investigator for the DA's office. But they want Natalie to look at the autopsy reports to see if they match what we have here. A car will pick you up after it picks up Dr. Lambert at 9:00.

In LA

Beth was talking with her boss, Ben Talbot. "Toronto PD is sending over a detective and Coroner to talk to you about the Vampire slayings that you investigated last year. They had a similar case and want to see if they match. Det Knight and Dr. Lambert will be here tonight sometime. They are on the 10:30 pm flight out of Toronto. Apparently the Detective is photosensitive and cannot tolerate any sunlight. They will be contacting the office to set up a meeting. You may want to talk to St. John to talk with them as well," he informed her.

"Just have them call my cell and I will set up the meeting directly. I will go and talk to him now. Anything you want me to check out before I leave?"

"No not tonight. I will call you when the Detective and Dr. arrive'

Before Beth could knock on the door, Mick opened it. "I heard you coming," he told her noting her expression.

Beth sat on the couch and took the cup of coffee Mick offered. "Thanks, I can really use this. Talbot just told me that a Toronto Detective and Coroner are coming to look into the vampire slayings we had here last year. They want to meet with me and Talbot suggested that you meet with them as well. Since you rescued me and all that. The will be contacting me to set up a meeting." She paused, "Talbot did mention an interesting thing about Detective Knight. He is allergic to sunlight."

"Might as well have them meet us here. Since he is allergic to sunlight, he might be a vampire." He gave Beth a toothy grin. "I'll call Josef and see if he can dig up anything on this Detective. You know the Coroner's name?"

"Dr. Lambert"

Mick pulled out his phone, and hit the speed dial. "Hey Josef, can you have Ryder look the background of two people from Toronto. A Detective Knight with a K and a Dr. Lambert? Thanks."

Mick and Beth talked until the phone rang about 30 minutes later. Mick looked at the caller ID.

"Hey Josef, what did Ryder find? Let me put it on speaker so Beth can hear"

"Hi Blondie. Ryder found some interesting stuff. Dr. Lambert appears on the up and up. She is the head coroner. Youngest person to hold that position. She has had some unusual cases. She is also the Detective's personal Dr."

"Isn't that just a bit weird?" asked Beth.

"Hold on Blondie, I wasn't finished yet. Knight looks good on paper, but on digging deeper we found some holes in his background."

Mick asked, "what type of holes?"

"The kind someone who has to create a new identity would. One thing though, they searched his apartment a while ago and found pig's blood in his fridge but very little food. Just some popcorn and coffee. Funny thing is, he doesn't drink coffee. He claimed the blood was for thickening his paints. I will have Ryder keep digging and if he finds anything else of interest, I will call you."

"He's not a vampire, is he?" asked Beth.

"Not that I am aware of. We don't have a large community in Toronto but I will ask around? How come you didn't do this yourself? You're the PI."

"Not enough time. He is going to be here tonight sometime. I am going to have Beth meet him here, that way if he is a vamp I can protect her and contain any bloodshed."

"Have a few stakes ready my friend.

"Bye Josef." Mick hung up the phone. "Beth, I don't want you to meet these people without me. Not until we have determined that they are not dangerous."

"You think he might be dangerous?"

"If he is a vampire, then he might be."

After their flight landed and they had gathered their bags, Nat thought of something. "Nick, how are you going to eat?"

"I called LaCroix and he had a few cases delivered to our hotel and they are waiting in the mini-fridge. What do we know about Beth Turner."

Nick got their rental car and when they were headed toward the hotel, Nat pulled a piece of paper out of her briefcase. "She was a reporter for Buzzwire, an internet tabloid now she is a civilian investigator for the DA's office. She covered the vampire slayings while working for Buzzwire." Natalie looked at the pictures of the wounds. "Look at the wounds. Not a vampire. You and I could both tell that before they even stopped the TA. She dated an ADA, Josh Lindsey. Josh was killed by a Mexican gang for going after their leader, a Mr. Tejada. The police had the person who had killed Josh. He wouldn't confess then a Mick St. John talked to him and got him to confess. They said it looked like he scared the information out of him. When they got to the bar the perp said, they didn't find him there. Interesting note, Tejada went missing shortly afterwards. He left behind his daughter and family. Rumors were flying that he was killed but no body was ever found. Beth took Josh's death hard and quit her job at Buzzwire. That was when she was asked to join the DA's office by Ben Talbot who replaced Josh. Apparently she and St. John are close. He helped to find and protect a witness in an Arm's Dealers' case. There are a few mentions of St. John in other cases as well. The DA's office passed along Beth's number so we can set up a time to meet them."

"Do you want to meet them tonight or tomorrow?"

"I say tomorrow that way we can go and get the reports tonight and I can compare them. Any questions we have we can ask that way?"

the next day at Mick's loft

"Hey, Mick. We are meeting Det Knight and Dr. Lambert here at 10.

"You want me to cook you something. I went shopping for you today. How about some friend chicken?"

"Sounds good."

Beth was finishing her dishes when they heard a knock on the door.

Mick was at the door before Beth had moved, "I got it." He opened the door and greeted the two standing there.

"You must be Det Knight and Dr. Lambert. Please make yourself comfortable. I'm Mick St. John and this is Beth Turner."

After the two visitors had sat on the couch, "May I get you anything to drink? I have coffee, tea, iced tea and water?"

"I wouldn't mind some water,' said Dr. Lambert.

"Be right back with it. And you Detective?"

"Nothing for me, thank you."

Mick went to get a glass of water, he whispered to Beth, "stay close to me, something is off with these two. If I tell you to run, go to my office and shut the door."

"What is it?"

"I don't know but it is something."

Mick placed the glass of water in front of Dr. Lambert and took a seat in one of the chairs, Beth took the other one.

As Mick went to the kitchen, Nick whispered to Natalie, "Nat stay close to me. Something is up with these two. I don't know what but be careful."

"How may we help you Detective Knight and Dr. Lambert?"

"Please call me Nick and Dr. Lambert Natalie."

"So how can we help you Nick?"

"What made you believe it was Daniel Cams?"

"Nothing. We both thought it was Christian Ellis, a professor at Hearst College. He had a blood and sex cult going on. Beth was investigating him based on the evidence we found at the first victims house. We found a vial of blood that was his. When she went undercover at a study group, he attacked her and Daniel "rescued" her. Only as soon as he had her alone, he knocked her out with a drug was going to kill her. I was able to catch up to the car after he lost control and hit another car.

"How did you know what happened?" asked Nat.

"The professor told me."

"He just confessed?"

"No, I had to scare him a little. I threatened to beat him up and spill some of his blood."

"How were you able to catch up to the car?" asked Nick.

"He must of hit some red lights, so I was able to catch up before he was able to do anything else to Beth."

"Beth, did you suspect the TA?"

"No, it was the professor. He was a grade A creep. Like Mick said, he had a blood and sex cult going. The first victim, Kelly Foster, was a student of his. I checked out one of his classes and he was going on about how we were all vampires of some type. Psychic, energy, spiritual, etc. How, even as babies, we steal life from our mothers. The second victim, Chloe Jones, attacked him at Kelly's funeral and used a knife of some type that gave him a good cut. The police later matched the blood sample we found with a sample of Ellis's blood. Both victims's had large holes in their necks but had most of their blood.

Nick spoke as he stood up, "Thank you for your time. That matches our guys MO. Too bad we can't get a confession out Mr. Cams for our murders. It would put a lot of people at ease." Nick turned to assist Natalie up from the couch. "Where can I get Natalie a good cup of coffee? She doesn't show it, but she is about to suffer from caffeine withdrawal."

"If you like, Beth and I can take you to a café a few blocks from here. They are open all night. Beth enjoys their coffee and muffins. I will show you my car so you may follow us."

"Sounds good to us," said Nat.

After taking the elevator down the garage, they discovered that Nick had parked their rental not far from Mick's Benz.

"Nice car," said Nick. But secretly he wondered how big the trunk was.

They followed Mick and Beth to the café. While each couple was in their cars they were having almost identical conversations about what was so weird about the other couple.

"I don't know Beth but both my vamp and PI senses were telling me something was off."

Mick was telling Beth as she was asking what was wrong with the Det and Dr.

"I don't know, Nat, but something was off. I just can't put my finger on it." Nick told Nat.


	2. Cafe on the Corner

Chapter 2

Bullets Fly

After parking their cars, the four walked into the Café on the Corner, open 24 hours. Once the two women had coffee and their chocolate chocolate chip muffins the four found a seat outside to enjoy the warm night air. Nat took a bite of her muffin and couldn't help but sigh as the chocolate hit her taste buds. "This is soooo good. I know that Grace would love this. We will have to come back before we leave and get another one. Think we could take some home, Nick?"

"I don't see why not. We will stop by on our way to airport."

Nat looked at Nick with a twinkle in her eye, "You want a bite?" She broke off a small piece and put it on a napkin in front of him.

Nick eyed the piece like it was poison. "No thanks Nat. You should have it. I know how much you love chocolate. It would be a shame to waste it."

"Your loss, " said Nat as she popped the piece into her mouth.

Before anything else could be said, both Mick and Nick were suddenly on alert.

"Get down, Beth" Mick told her just as Nick told Nat to get down.

"Why?" they both asked at the same time, as they were being pulled down and shielded by the guys' bodies. Beth felt Mick stiffen as something hit his back and heard the gunshots.

"Nick and Nat" she said to Mick.

"They're all set," he told her.

Beth looked over and saw Nick shielding Nat just as Mick was shielding her. She saw Nick's eyes closed and his mouth jammed shut but it looked strange. She realized that she could see the tips of fangs poking into his lower lip. She gasped and saw Nick open his eyes, revealing yellow-green eyes instead of the ice blue she was used to when Mick was vamped out.

Mick was too concerned about Beth to notice that he was vamped out. "Beth you ok?"

"I'm fine"

Mick heard a low growl from Nick and looked into yellow-green eyes. Nat looked when she heard Nick growl and saw met Mick's ice blue eyes. "Nick, stop. You will draw attention to us. Is it over?" Just as she asked that question, new gunshots erupted and the coppery smell of blood reached them. "Guess not."

"Mick tip over the table to protect us and go and help them. Try not to get shot."

"Nick, you to as well. Stop other people from getting hurt. We will be fine. Let us know when it will be safe."

Mick tossed his phone to Beth, "Call Josef, tell him to meet us at my place with extra supplies."

After tipping over the heavy table, the two vampires went to stop the bloodshed. After looking through Mick's contacts she saw Josef's. She started talking before Josef could say a word, "Josef, its Beth. Mick said for you to meet us at his place and to bring extra supplies. We are the Café on the Corner and a gunfight just erupted. I don't know for what but Mick and Nick just went to stop it. We will explain when we see you. Much to complicated right now and even we don't know. Yes I know Mick owes you big time. When will we get there? As soon as we are done talking with the cops. Lucky for me, I know most of them. Should be between ½ an hour to and hour max. See you there."

Nat looked at her funny. "I'll have Mick explain. He's better than I am with Josef."

At that moment, both women noticed that it had quieted down. They heard Mick tell them it was ok to come out. They poked their heads out from behind the table. Beth ran to Mick and hugged him then started to inspect him. Noticing a few bullet holes in his shirt, she pulled his jacket from the chair beside the table and told him to put it on. Natalie was doing to same thing with Nick.

An uncomfortable silence descended on the group as they waited for the police. Didn't take very long. After talking with the officers about what happened and how Mick and Nick were able to subdue the gunmen they were allowed to leave. They headed back to Mick's loft. When they parked they noticed Josef's red Ferrari in Mick's spot. They exited the elevator and Mick unlocked his door. Josef was sitting on Mick's couch drinking a glass of blood. "Mick what did you do this time? I brought over your favorite" At the smell of blood and their extensive wounds, both Mick and Nick vamped out but Nick got a hold of himself and unvamped. "Who are your guests? Blondie didn't tell me you had company." Josef stared at Nick. "Nicholas Gerard? But that is impossible. You should be dead by now."

Nick stared at the "young" man in front of him. "Charles Edin? You should be dead as well."

Mick interrupted, "As much as I hate to interrupt, we need a little help here. I have a few bullets that need to come out as well as Nick."

Nat spoke up, "Do you have a scalpel and some cloths?"

"I have a few kitchen knifes in the drawer on the island and cloths are under the sink. Josef, think you could perform minor surgery? Let me get us some drinks before hand." Mick poured two glasses of blood from the containers sitting on the island. He placed one in front of Nick and took a big gulp from his. "Here are some forceps if you need them,' he told Nat placing them in front of her. He handed a knife and the other forceps to Josef.

"Blondie, maybe you should watch so you can do this next time and I won't have to be called." Beth came over and watched as Josef cut the healed skin and pulled out four bullets from Mick's back and three from his front. "All set" said Josef. Mick emptied his glass and refilled it along with Nicks. He put coffee on for the girls. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

Natalie finished with Nick about the same time that Josef finished with Mick. Mick ran up to get a new shirt for himself as well as Nick. He tossed it to Nick. Josef sat in one of the living room chairs and stared at Nick. "You were Nicholas Gerard weren't you?"

"I was," Nick said. "And you were Charles Edin. How come your not dead?"

"Oh you know, a little plastic surgery. A few organ transplants. You?" Josef replied.

"I am a vampire."

"Impossible. I don't smell any decay from you"

Nick looked puzzled, "decay?"

Beth took the other chair, Nick and Natalie sat on the couch and Mick brought in his office chair and sat next to Beth.

Beth spoke up, "I saw you but your eyes were different. They were a yellow-green not blue."

"When I vamp out they change from my normal color."

"Josef, how is this possible. He looked different from us. And how come we can't smell him?"

"What do you mean, "smell me?"" asked Nick. "I can't sense you like I do other vampires."

Nat had been observing Mick since the café, "Unless you are different species. Humans have different racial traits, I guess that it would make sense for vampires to have different races."

"That would make sense. I was trying to figure out what was different with you Nick. Your heart barely beats and your smell is off." Mick said.

Nick stared at Mick, "Your heart doesn't beat at all and your smell is off as well. But it smells different from Josef."

"Well Josef is old," Mick said.

Nick looked at Josef, "How old are you? You have be at least a 100 for us to have met back in the 20's."

"I am 400. You?" Josef asked Nick.

"Almost 800." Nick answered.

"OK. Let me wrap my head around this. If you have different physical appearances, what are the other differences?" Nat asked Mick and Josef. "Can you go out in the sun? What will kill you?"

Mick answered, "We can stand small amounts of sunlight. It won't kill us right away but it doesn't make us feel very good. Enough exposure and we will die unless we feed. Decapitation and fire will kill us. Stakes paralyze us, silver will sicken us and we are not allergic to anything holy. And we do not sleep in coffins but freezers"

"Freezers?" asked Nat.

"It keeps our body temperatures cool."

"Can you fly or hypnotize people?"

"No, but I always thought that it would be cool," said Mick.

"You cant' fly," Nick asked surprised.

"No, can you?"

"Yes, I can."

"What about you Nick. What are your differences?" asked Beth.

"I can fly. I sleep in a bed. Sunlight and stakes will kill me. Holy objects do burn me, and I can hypnotize people if they are not resisters" Nick saw Nat's face full of curiosity. "What is it Nat?"

"I wonder what the genetic differences are between you guys."

"You have a genetic profile on Nick?" Mick asked shocked.

"Yes, she does. The Toronto community knows that I want to be human. I don't want to be a vampire anymore."

Josef looked at Mick and shook his head, "Looks like you have a fellow sympathizer, Mick. On that note, I need to get back to my business. Have some people that I need to threaten to get some stocks. It was nice to see you Nick and nice to meet you Natalie."

Josef picked up his coat and left the loft.

Nick stared at Mick, "You don't want to be a vampire? Why?"

"I was turned by my ex-wife, Coraline. I didn't know what she was and on our wedding night, she turned me."

"You?"

"I want to be able to go out into the sunlight and eat food. Be able to have a family and know that I am immortal that way."

"How did you and Natalie meet?" Beth asked.

"He scared about 10 years worth of life out of me by waking up on my morgue table. He was trying to stop a pipe bomb and got himself killed for it. He sat up on my table and ran to the fridge where I kept some blood for comparison tests. He tried to tell me he was dead but I told him dead men don't walk or talk. You?"

"When I was little, I was kidnapped by Coraline. She wanted Mick back after he left her. Told him we could all be a family. He rescued me and staked her, then burned the house down. Then when the murders happened, Mick was watching me as I did the report and I saw him and went over to him. I didn't find out about him being a vampire until after Lee Jay Spaulding shot him with silver bullets and I went to help Mick. I ended up killing Lee Jay to save Mick. He took off and I found him here, feeding from a few blood bags. Mick has saved me from a few scrapes. Coraline escaped from the house, became human, and shared the cure with Mick. It only lasted a while though. A psycho vamp that was providing rare blood types to some vamps kidnapped Talbot and me. Mick was returned to save me."

"What was it that Coraline gave you to make you human, Mick?" asked Natalie.

"It was a type of compound that was developed during the French Revolution. It masked the signs of vampirism. And I don't have any of the compound here. Coraline took it with her and was captured by her older brother and returned to France. I can give you some of my blood if you like. It would be interesting to see a genetic profile."

"Nat, we need to get heading back to our hotel. The sun is going to rise in an hour and I don't feel like being a crispy critter or riding in the trunk. It don't' think it's very big."

Mick looked outside. "Please come back tonight. I have a feeling we have a lot more to talk about."

Mick escorted Nick and Natalie to the door. After closing it, he turned to Beth, "Well that was interesting night." He took a sip from his glass. "Beth spend the day here. I need to get some sleep and so do you. I don't want you driving home. You look so tired. Call Talbot and leave him a message letting him know what happened so he won't call and wake you up."

Beth called Talbot and left a message and told him that she will call him when she wakes up. Mick came downstairs with an armful of blankets and pillows and an extra shirt for Beth to sleep in. "I should just really buy a bed. I have a few extra rooms upstairs." He told her.

Mick handed the shirt to Beth and made up the couch for her. "Good nite Beth. If you need anything, I will be upstairs in the freezer."

"Nite, Mick. Sweet dreams."

"You too, Beth," he told her. I'll be dreaming of you, he thought.

Beth laid on the couch wishing that she could be curled up next to Mick.


	3. Girl Talk

Chapter 3 Girl Talk

Nick and Natalie made it back to the hotel with about 30 minutes to spare. Nick went to his room where he grabbed a bottle of blood for himself and a bottle of water from the fridge for Nat. He returned to Nat's room. She watched him as he opened the bottle and took a sip, grimacing as the taste hit his mouth.

"Does it really taste that bad?' she asked.

"Only after drinking fresh human blood. So what do you think about Mick and Beth?"

"They seem to really care about each other, but I don't know what to think about them. I never really thought about the fact that there might be different species of vampires out there. So tell me about Josef."

"He was a stock broker back when I knew him. A real "go for the throat" type. Of course I didn't know how true that was until just now. I ran into him at a party and after listening to his talk, I decided to let him do some investing for the De Brabant Foundation. Those investments are still earning money. I will have to see if his company does investing, and if they are, if they are accepting clients. Not to change the subject, but let me see the file on the Tejada case." Nick looked at the file for a few minutes, "It says here that witnesses reported a "monster" supposedly where Tejada disappeared from. These people claim that it looked like a man but wasn't. They said that he was looking for Tejada and when the Bartender fired a gun at him, he jumped up and then smashed the bartender's face into the bar. After threatening someone, they told him where Tejada was in the back office. Gunshots were heard and Tejada was never seen or heard from again. Rumors are that he fled back to Mexico to get away from charges. Makes me wonder if Mick wasn't involved somehow. I'll ask him tonight." Nat let out a big yawn, "You look exhausted. Wake me up if your up before me." Nick kissed Nat on the forehead and went to his room.

Beth tossed and turned on Mick's couch. She was dreaming about what happened at the café. Mick heard Beth tossing and turning. When he heard her panicked scream, he ran downstairs and shook her awake.

"Beth. Beth, wake up. What's wrong?"

Beth looked at him with panicked eyes. "Mick your alive! I dreamt that you were killed at the café. You died from the bullet wounds.

"Beth, I'm ok. Bullets won't kill me."

Beth looked down in tears, "Beth what is it?"

"The dream. It was just like what happened with Josh. I couldn't save him and I couldn't save you!" At that point, Beth completely lost it and started to bawl her eyes out. Her sobs quieted after about half and hour.

"You won't lose me. Remember, I'm hard to kill and heal fast. Slide up a bit." Beth slid up a bit and Mick laid her head on his lap. "Now try to get some sleep. I won't go anywhere." Beth closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep knowing that Mick was alive and safe. Mick laid his head back against the couch and closed his eyes as well.

They were both started awake by a knock at the door. Mick walked over to the door and looked at his screen only to see Josef expectantly looking up at him.

"Mick, let me in"

Mick opened the door, "Good morning, Josef. What brings you here?"

"More like afternoon. He stopped and sniffed then looked at the couch. "Good afternoon, Blondie. So how's the couch?"

"Comfy especially with my pillow" She smiled at Mick as he smiled back at her, "How's the freezer?"

"Comfy," Josef replied, not missing the look that passed between the two in front of him.

"I am here to find out what the "Good Detective" had to say, after I left. I did a little digging. It appears his sire is over 2000 years old. An old roman general by the name of Lucian LaCroix. He is considered an elder in the Toronto community. He is very upset that Det. Knight doesn't want to be a vamp anymore. His "friend" and I use that term lightly has been helping him to regain his mortality. She has made a few attempts that were close."

"He told us this last night Josef. You were here for some of it." Beth told him.

"It appears you have a comrade-in-arms, Mick. But there is no permanent cure. Nick's been looking for longer than you have been around. Just be careful. His sire is old and powerful. He has been known to take extreme measures regarding his son. From what my contacts told me, he is very protective of his family and that Nick is his favorite."

"Josef, how did you find this out?" asked Beth.

"I had Ryder do a little digging and it turns out they have a mutual friend who helps to create new identities for Nick's kind. He knows Nick and LaCroix well."

Just then, Beth's phone started to ring. She looked at it and didn't recognize the number, "Hello?"

"Hi Beth, it's Nat. I was wondering if you wanted to grab a cup of coffee this afternoon."

"Sure. We can meet at the same café as last night. I highly doubt that will be problems again. In about two hours?"

"Sounds good to me. I can't wait to have another muffin."

"See you in two hours, then." Beth turned to Mick, "I know that you heard what was said. Figured it would be a good way to get some more info and just have some "girl" talk."

"OK. Just be careful."

"I will. But I do need to go back to my apt. To get some clean clothes and take a shower."

After showering and getting some clean clothes, Beth was waiting for Natalie at the Café.

"Hey, Nat. You and Nick recover from last night?"

"Nick was still sleeping when I left. I left him a note so he wouldn't worry."

"He worries about you a lot, I take it. You're not alone; Mick is always worried about me. Before the "Vampire Murders' I always swore that I saw someone stalking me in the shadows and I know now, it was Mick."

"You too seem to care about each other a lot."

"We do, but Mick is careful he doesn't want to risk hurting me. We had a case once where another vamp taunted me with "knowing about vamps but being on the outside and didn't' I want to be on the inside". Mick reacted so strongly to that. He considers himself a monster because of what he is. I don't, I consider him my guardian angel. What about you and Nick?"

"We do, but like Mick, Nick is worried about hurting me. He is very careful. He let out his emotions once but he doesn't know I remember. He thinks I was "whammied" by LaCroix and that he was able to latch onto that. He considers himself a monster as well. When he was younger, he did many things that he regrets and just wants to atone for them. What he doesn't realize is that he is atoning by doing what he does now. He doesn't drink human blood, he drinks animal blood. His sire, LaCroix is always after him to "return" to the fold but he doesn't want to. He has actually staked LaCroix but it didn't work. What are you and Mick gonna do? Nick has talked about moving on within the next 5-10 years. People are going to start to notice that he hasn't aged much. What about you and Mick?"

"I don't know. Mick has been in LA since he was turned. The only person he has kept in contact with was a detective that he worked on the Lee Jay Spaulding case. He went blind so he can't see that Mick hasn't aged. I know that I love Mick and I know that he loves me back. He is very commitment phobic because of his ex-wife."

"Have you ever asked him to bring you across?"

"Bring me across? Oh, you mean turn me? I did once. Of course I was high on Black Crystal and he refused."

"Black Crystal?"

"It was a drug that was made from vampire blood. Lola, another vamp, was incapacitating vamps using silver, draining them of their blood and drying it. She was selling it at a place called "Club Vallis". I to some, and for the sake of the story I was writing about the death of a model, I tried it. According to Mick, it mimicked the affects of vampirism. I took the drug, not knowing what it was, and walked to Mick's. I remember being very hot and him taking me to the shower where we took a cold shower. I asked him to turn me and he refused. I woke up on his couch, with what felt like a massive hangover and feeling very embarrassed. Especially after I realized that I was wearing one of Mick's shirts and he had changed me cause my very revealing dress was wet. You?"

"Once. We had a meteor scare that was actually a ruse so that someone could manipulate the markets. Toronto was hit hard by it. I asked Nick to "bring me across" so that I could survive it. He refused. I went to the local vampire club, "The Raven" and got drunk, started to flirt with a young vampire, Spark, and asked him to do it. Nick's sister, Janette, called him to let him know that I was there but had left. When Spark went to bite me, I changed my mind but he still attacked me. Nick came in and killed him to defend me. I felt like a complete idiot when Nick told me what was going on. So I know how you feel."

"What are we gonna do? We both love guys who think they are monsters, but aren't." asked Beth. She then started to laugh, "Of all the conversations I ever imagined having, this was never one of them. Finally meeting someone who is in the same place that I am never thought that would happen either." Natalie joined her in laughter.

"Same here Beth. Same here. After Nick and go back to Toronto we need to stay in contact. I think that we are only two who would understand what we are feeling."

"I agree, Nat. Maybe Mick and I could…" Beth never got to finish her sentence as her phone started to ring, she looked at the caller id, "It's my boss, Talbot."

"Hello, Ben" Beth was silent for a few seconds, "We are fine Ben. I'm actually having coffee with Dr. Lambert right now. Sure, I can swing by the office no problem. Do you mind if I bring Dr. Lambert? All right, see you in about 30 minutes." Beth hung up and looked at Natalie. "I hope you don't mind. Ben wanted to meet you and Nick. Figured you could explain that Nick only comes out at night. We can take my car. I didn't see yours when I showed up."

"I walked. It's nice to be out in the sun and warmth. Toronto can get so cold this time of the year."

They both finished up their coffee and headed towards the DA building.

"Not a bad looking place to work," Nat commented, "I get stuck in my morgue in the basement."

"I spend a lot of time in the morgue with Mick, for some reason we end up there a lot. The attendant is where Mick buys his blood. He's one too."

They entered the building and pushed the button for the elevator. Once on the proper floor, they headed towards Talbot's Office. Before they could knock, Ben saw Beth and motioned them in with his hand.

"Ben, this is Dr. Natalie Lambert. Nat, this is Ben Talbot, District Attorney."

"Nice to meet you Dr. Lambert, please call me Ben" He extended his hand to shake Natalie's. "Dr. Lambert, did you find everything that you needed for your investigation?"

"Please call me Nat," Natalie shook his hand. "We did. Beth and Mick St. John were extremely helpful. Det. Knight wished he could be here, but due to his sunlight allergy he is forced to stay inside."

"I must apologize for what happened to you and Det. Knight last night. That does not normally happen to our visitors. I have assigned someone to investigate what happened."

"Don't worry about it. Nick and I are fine. It can happen anywhere. Nick, Det. Knight, could probably tell you some stories. Please don't go to any additional trouble. Nick and I do not think badly of your city. I would not hesitate to come back and visit for pleasure."

"Glad to here you think that of our city. If you have any other questions, please call me directly. Here is my card.' Ben would have continued but his phone rang, "Excuse me, I need to take this."

Beth and Nat left his office, "He seems nice enough, "commented Nat, "but this investigation has me worried. What if someone says that they saw Nick and Mick get shot. We should talk to the guys about it."

"I agree. You want to meet at Mick's place at sundown? I'll pick up some food to leave at Mick's so we can have some food to eat. If it makes Nick feel better, Mick's blood comes from the morgue, so no one died for it." Beth paused, "Never mind I said that."

"Nick feels guilty drinking human blood, it's his preferred food. Maybe I will just have Nick bring his own "refreshment"."

"Is there a difference?"

"Human makes vamps stronger in all ways, Nick's so old he can exist on animal but it doesn't taste very good and he is not at his full strength." Nat paused a moment, " You know, Mick reminds me Nick in so many ways"

"I was just thinking the same thing. At lease now we have someone we can talk to about this stuff. No one else would understand and a shrink would think we were nuts!"

"I know, if the shrink survived. After all, we both know that the key the survival is secrecy. What do you know of Josef?"

"Not much. He is Mick's best friend. He knew Mick from before Coraline. He is considered by many to be a "renegade" by the financial community. But they wonder how he knows the market so well for being so "young". He is about 400 years old. He is one of the elders here in LA. Would do anything for a friend, not that he has many. Other than that, not much." Beth's phone rang and she looked at it, "It's Mick Hi Mick. What's up?" she listened for a few seconds, "No, I am still with Dr. Lambert, we just left the DA's office. He wanted to meet Nat and Nick. We will be over soon." She hung up with Mick. "Can you leave a message with Nick to meet us at Mick'? He has something he wants to show us?"

Nat picked up her cell phone and dialed Nick's. "Hey Nick, I figured that I would get your voice mail. Mick says he has something to show us, and want us to meet him at his place. I am still with Beth. We just left the DA's office. He wanted to meet us both but I told him that you couldn't come out during the day. The sun should be down within the next 30 minutes. Do you want me to come and get you? Mick's carport is covered. If you ride covered up you should be ok. Beth, can you drive me to our hotel, I need to get Nick?

"Sure, no problem. You remember how to get to Mick's or do you want to follow me?"

"We will follow you".

"Great, did you bring clothes for going out with you? If so, bring them. All depending on Mick has to say, I was thinking that we could go out and enjoy some of the nightlife. Show you some good parts of LA. If you want, you and could go to beach sometime as well. I haven't been since Mick was mortal."

"Nick and I did bring some non-work clothes and I did bring a swimsuit Maybe we could go tonight? I have always loved the moonlight reflecting off the water."

"Me too."

"I will need to swing by my apt to grab some clothes and my suit as well. Do you want me to give you directions to Mick's instead. It's pretty easy from your hotel. Or do you want to follow me to my apt?"

"Why don't you swing by before we go to the hotel."

"Ok" they pulled into Beth's parking lot. Beth unlocked her front door, "Welcome, please excuse the mess, I wasn't expecting company." Beth ran into her room and grabbed some clothes and her bathing suit. When she came out, she found Nat looking at the picture of Mick at the beach. "That was when Mick had the cure. We spent the afternoon at the beach. I cherish that day. I just wish it had lasted longer. I feel horrible that he gave up mortality to save me from the doctor."

"Maybe someday there will be a permanent cure. Or maybe he will "turn" you. Hopefully he will see how much you care for him and see that you want to spend the rest of your life with him."

"Would be nice. Same for you, Nat. Alright, we need to get going here or we are going to be late."

Beth dropped of Nat at the door to her hotel and waited for her and Nick to show up. She saw their car pull out of the underground garage and pulled into traffic in front of them. They followed her to Mick's place. Beth watched amused as Nick crawled out of the trunk.

He looked at her and smiled, "the only place to hide out from the sun. We didn't grab a blanket from the room."

After a brief elevator ride, they approached Mick's door. Beth knocked and found it already cracked for them.

"I'm in the office," they heard Mick callout.

They walked into his office to find pictures all over the place, "Mick what's going on?"

"I realized something earlier, I was going through some of my files and looking at the pictures from them and realized something," Mick laid out the pictures in front of them, "Notice anything about these?"

Nick stared at the photos, "These two are from last night but I recognize them all. If you look at each picture there is at least one person from each picture in the other ones."

Beth looked at the pictures, "Do you think they are all related? Seven Degrees of Separation and all that."

Nick picked up one picture with a shocked look on his face. Nat noticed and looked at the picture as well. "Nick isn't that LaCroix?"


	4. Moonlight Reflections

Chapter 4

Moonlight Reflections

"Yes, but what was he doing in LA?"

Mick looked at the back of the photo, "That picture is from the day you arrived."

"What? Give me a sec, I want to call Janette. Hi Janette, do you know where LaCroix is. You don't and he isn't in Toronto. Thanks." He hung up the phone and looked at the other three. "My sire, LaCroix was in town the day we arrived. That is him," Nick pointed to a tall blond man with cold blue eyes.

"I've seen him before," said Mick. "I don't recall where, but I have. Do you see him in any other pictures? I'm going to see if Josef knows him." Mick scanned in a copy of the photo and isolated the picture of LaCroix and e-mailed it to him.

Mick's phone rang within 5 minutes. "Why did you send me a picture of one of my clients?"

"That is Lucien LaCroix, Nick's sire."

"I know him as Lucien Smith. He has been a client of Kostan industries him for about 5 years. We do some investments for him. Not much though. He will call us and tell us to invest some of his profits into certain funds. You know me Mick, not much scares me, but that guy scares me."

"Thanks Josef."

"I can try to do some digging when Nat and I get back to Toronto as well." Nick offered. "Of course, knowing LaCroix it will cost me and arm and a leg."

"Sounds like your sire is not very forthcoming with information," stated Mick.

"He's not forthcoming with anything besides how terrifying he can be or the fact that Nick will never find a cure for his vampirism," Nat said.

Beth looked at everyone, "Enough of the work for now. Let's go and have some fun tonight. What does everyone want to do tonight? I suggest the beach. We won't be as crowded and then afterwards we can head to the boulevard to explore it and if Nat and I are hungry we get some good ol' boardwalk food."

Mick looked at Beth, smiling remembering the last trip to the beach when he was mortal. "Sounds good to me. Nick? Nat?"

"I know Nat loves the beach so let's go for it," said Nick.

"Let Nat and I change into our swimsuits in case we decide to go in. Nick I think Nat brought and extra change of clothes for you if you decide to go in, and Mick do you own a swimsuit? If so bring it with us." With that said Beth and Nat went and changed into their suits.

While they were changing, the guys just looked at each other, Nick shook his head, "I think we are going swimming tonight whether we want to or not."

"Anything to make our women happy, right Nick?" Mick asked.

The two women were in the living room changed and wait at that point, "Why don't we take your car Mick? It makes sense to only take one car tonight."

"Sure, we'll put the top down."

"What is it and vamps with owning convertibles? Nick has a 1962 teal Caddy convertible."

"It's the open air thing," said Mick.

"That, and the fact that I can take right off from the seat and not have to open to door" said Nick.

"You and Mick are going to have to come to Toronto so we can show you the city. It's beautiful at night. Nick could probably get Mick his food and you can both stay at my place. I have a couch and we can figure out some way to keep Mick on ice."

"A bathtub full of ice works just as well as a freezer, I know some people who have done that when traveling," stated Mick.

"We will figure it out when you come and visit."

"Let's go to the beach, the night is wasting away and I want Nat to see our beautiful beaches. We can lay in the moonlight and enjoy the sound of the waves crashing. I don't think it will be very crowded, do you Mick?" asked Beth.

The drive to the beach was very uneventful, the two visitors enjoying the feel of warm air rushing by them.

They found the beach pretty empty and the four sat down on the towels they brought with them and just enjoyed the sound of the crashing waves and the moonlight reflecting on the water.

Natalie and Beth looked at each other then at the two men sitting beside them. "Time to go swimming," announce Beth. She and Natalie both took off their clothes and headed toward the water. "You two going to join us?" Natalie called back.

Both Mick and Nick took off their shirts and headed towards the two women splashing in the surf. Beth grabbed Mick's hand and tried to pull him in as Natalie tried to do the same with Nick. Both men resisted being pulled very far. "Come on you two, it's not like your going to melt. Let's go out deeper." Somehow the two women maneuvered the two men to have their backs to the waves and got them out deep enough that when a really large wave crashed to the beach, it crashed over their heads and soaked them all. Mick started to chase Beth as Nick did the same to Natalie. Both women were crying for mercy by the time that they had been caught. All four of them were laughing so hard they could barely keep swimming. Nat and Beth relaxed and started to float on their back. "This is so nice and relaxing. Hard to believe that we are still in LA. I almost hate to go home" stated Nat. After swimming for another 45 minutes they headed back to their towels and just lay on the beach relaxing cuddling their respective dates.

A sudden rumbling cut through the night, "Beth was that you?' asked Mick.

"Nope, must have been Nat."

"It was. I am usually at work now and have a snack about now."

"Let's go to the boardwalk and get you both some food."

After spending most of the evening, the four decided to head back to Mick's place for a night cap and to pick up Nick and Nat's car. "Can I offer anyone a drink? Beth picked up some soda and juice. What would you like Nat?" After pouring some soda for Beth and Natalie, Mick placed a glass in front of everyone, he sat in the other chair. "What time does your flight leave?"

"10 pm tonight. That way we arrive in plenty of time to get home before the sun rises. I really don't want to leave LA right now. It is so warm compared to Toronto right now. It's an icebox there."

"Will you stop by before you leave, Beth and I would like to say bye and maybe set up a time to visit you in Toronto. The cold doesn't bother me."

"Gladly. Will you be here Beth?" asked Natalie.

"Yes, I will"

"We hate to leave but I am getting really tired. We will see you tomorrow" said Natalie.

After they left, Mick looked at Beth, "You want to spend the night here? My couch is an open invitation. And I really need to buy a bed. I have a few spare rooms upstairs. You want to help me pick one out? I don't know anything about buying beds."

"I know, you don't sleep in one."

"I wish I did." Mick ran upstairs and grabbed some sheets, pillows, and a shirt for Beth to sleep in. After helping her make up the couch, Mick started to talk to Beth about the evening, "Did you have fun Beth? I did"

"So did I," her sentence was cut short by her yawn.

"Good night Beth," Mick tucked her in with a kiss to her forehead. "Beth, maybe you should start leaving some clothes here for when you sleep over. It would make it easier for you when you get up in the morning."

"I can do that, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind Beth. Good night and if you need me I am upstairs in my freezer."

"Night, Mick. Sweet dreams"

Nick and Nat entered Nat's hotel room where Nat sat on the bed and yawned. "Why do you think LaCroix is investing with an American firm?" She asked.

"I don't know, but I think that LaCroix knows more about vampires than he knows. I think he may know about different types of vampires. Getting him to tell us is another story though."

"Who knows, get him drunk on Curare and see what you can get from him." Nat jokily suggested.

"It may work, but it would be hell to pay when he came out of it." Nick said.

Nat yawned even harder, and laid back on her bed clothes and all. She closed her eyes for a minute while listening to Nick.

Nick heard Nat snoring and looked at her lying on top of her bed, fully clothed. Nick picked up Nat and pulled back the covers to lay her under them. He kissed her on the forehead before returning to his room to get some sleep.


End file.
